103: Pardon My Spanish. How to live a multilingual life.
Pardon My Spanish. How To Rise Above Hate And Live A Multilingual Life
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“If this should be an English-only country, what are we gonna do about changing all the names of locations, streets, and cities in the state of California?"
According to data released last year by the Census Bureau, 21% of Americans don’t speak English at home.
My guest in this episode is Maribel Lara, you read that right! You get the two-for-one deal! In Spanish, we use the term, TOCAYA for when you have the same name as another person.
And let me tell you, she does the name justice!
I am a fan of Maribel’s calm wisdom and diplomatic view of the world. Ever heard of Gary V? She works with him as a VP of Special Projects at Vayner Media in NYC.
Talking to Maribel is both refreshing and awakening. We discussed our experiences as Spanish-speakers in the U.S.A. and the criticism that often follows in public, as well as the importance of rising above hate, broadening our view of the world and living a proud multi-lingual life.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Why Learning another language is so important...
Beyond communicating, it is about embracing and understanding culture.
It's ok to be uncomfortable sometimes...
Get uncomfortable and expose yourself to new experiences. Expand your mind, be curious because we will all be better for it.
The best ways of learning another language...
Find a group that gets together often to chat in the language you are trying to learn. Start a language-related book club. You can also try watching TV in the language you are learning with closed caption so you can practice listening and reading in that language.
Responding to an angry paranoid individual if they confront you about speaking Spanish in public or any other language they can't understand...
Respond only if you can keep your calm, but getting into an argument with someone is not worth it. Detaching from the emotion of feeling hurt by the hater can be difficult, but if you can do it and have a moment of learning with that person more power to you!
Find Maribel on Instagram or twitter @latina_sweetie. You can also find her latest post on Beget Love at https://medium.com/@maribellara.